Shostakovich’s energetic piano concertos feature striking and attractive themes, with sudden changes of mood between the burlesque and haunting, perfectly captured in these live recordings with pianist Martin Helmchen and the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s Principal Conductor Vladimir Jurowski. The Piano Quintet displays perhaps an even greater range of styles within a work of unusual purity written under the looming shadow of war.

During the sixteenth century in Italy, the motto ‘i galli cantano’ (the Gauls are singing) circulated, acknowledging the supremacy of the Franco-Flemish ‘transalpine’ musicians who were summoned to the peninsula to serve princes and prelates in the techniques of composing and performing vocal polyphony. Josquin Desprez, ‘Giosquino’ to the Italians, was the emblematic figure: in addition to France, he was in the service of Cardinal Ascanio Sforza in both Milan and Rome (1484, 1498) and of the papal (1489-95) and Este chapels (1503-4). On the fifth centenary of the composer’s death (1521), the Odhecaton ensemble proposes to retrace Josquin’s Italian itinerary with the Missa Hercules dux Ferrariæ, composed for the Duke of Ferrara Ercole I d’Este, and a selection of motets commissioned by Italian patrons.

Rafał Blechacz has been deeply associated with the music of Fryderyk Chopin across his whole career. His devotion to the music of his great compatriot began long before 2005 when he won the Warsaw Chopin Competition. Blechacz complements the two large works with Chopin’s haunting F sharp minor Nocturne and his exquisite Barcarolle.

Santana is the primary exponent of Latin-tinged rock, particularly due to its combination of Latin percussion (congas, timbales, etc.) with bandleader Carlos Santana's distinctive, high-pitched lead guitar playing. The group was the last major act to emerge from the psychedelic San Francisco music scene of the 1960s and it enjoyed massive success at the end of the decade and into the early '70s. The musical direction then changed to a more contemplative and jazzy style as the band's early personnel gradually departed, leaving the name in the hands of Carlos Santana, who guided the group to consistent commercial success over the next quarter-century.

Laura Ann Branigan was a Grammy Award-nominated American singer-songwriter and actress of Italian and Irish ancestry. She is best known in the United States for her 1982 Platinum-certified hit "Gloria" and in Europe for the number one single "Self Control". Branigan is also remembered for the Top 10 "Solitaire," and for the number one AC hit "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You." The Platinum Collection is the first greatest hits collection of singer Laura Branigan that was released posthmously. It was released only in the United Kingdom on July 24, 2006. The album is part of the Warner Platinum series released by Rhino Records. Out of the many Laura Branigan greatest hits collections released, this one contains the most hits with a track listing of eighteen.

Although John Wetton is at the helm throughout all of these tracks, King's Road, 1972-1980 is really a collaboration of progressive rock artists that have joined Wetton across each of the 13 songs. Wetton's renditions of songs by his former bands King Crimson and UK come off quite clean and refined, especially "As Long As You Want Me Here" from 1979's Night After Night Live album and the opening "Nothing to Lose" off Danger Money. While his efforts at singing the King Crimson tracks lack the magic and fullness they exhibit in their original form, they still maintain a slight electrified feel. The entire 12 minutes of "Starless" from the classic Red album makes for an excellent finishing track, brought marvelously back to life with the steady drumming of Bill Bruford and the sparkling keyboard work of Robert Fripp…

Switzerland-born singer Susanne Abbuehl studied with the influential vocalist Jeanne Lee (1939-2000) while attending the Royal Conservatory of the Hague, amidst her wholehearted interest in North Indian classical music. On her first release for ECM, Abbuehl and her fellow European musicians render an often thought-provoking program, augmented by the infamous "ECM aesthetic." However, the thrust of this outing emanates from the vocalist's incorporation of e.e. cummings' poems set to her music, while she appoints lyrics to a few Carla Bley compositions. Abbuehl possesses enticingly affectionate vocal attributes coupled with her soft incantations and atmospheric means of spinning a tale. Clarinetist Christof May serves as a near perfect foil for Abbuehl, as he frequently contrasts the singer's animated lyrical approach and tenderly stated choruses…

LIK - the modern-day purveyors of classic Swedish Death Metal - are back with a vengeance with their fourth album 'Necro'! Standing loud and proud above so many imitators, 'Necro' is the musical equivalent of a classic shock-horror film, drenched in blood and gore and packed with exaggerated extremities.
Looking beyond the zombie-fied cover art created by Stockholm-based tattooist and artist Jens Olsson (Ink Fanatics), 'Necro' serves as a reminder of just how special and exciting the genre is: packed with blood-curdling fantasy stories of war, death, zombies, world apocalypse, murder; and stacked with disgustingly good rotten riffs. Proudly staying true to the DNA and ethos of the music they've collectively loved since their teenage years, LIK go straight for the jugular in true quintessential death metal style…

Ex Vitae were a jazz group from Limoges that created their only album in 1978. Ex Vitae offers original and tempting themes. The album presents an interesting crossing of electric jazz and Progressive rock. You will remark a slight influence of Moving Gelatine Plates with regard to the construction of the themes and the use of a wide range of instruments.